Store terms, made clear.

An underground sensor stack (Veeder-Root TLS, Gilbarco) that reports real-time tank levels, temperature, water detection, and inventory. EPA leak detection requires it, and it is the canonical input for fuel reconciliation.

A document that accompanies each fuel delivery and lists volume per grade. The carrier issues it, the receiver signs it. The BOL is the source of truth for what was actually delivered before the tank takes it.

The California agency that collects sales tax, fuel excise tax, and other state-level fees. Gas stations file monthly or quarterly depending on revenue, covering inside-store sales tax and fuel excise.

A delivery model where vendors (Core-Mark, Eby-Brown, Pepsi) drop product at the store instead of routing through a warehouse. Each delivery comes with an invoice you need to ingest, line-match, and post.

A bank-to-bank electronic payment that moves money without checks. ACH is the dominant US flavor for vendor payments; EFT is the back-office term for the same transaction class.

The reconciliation a clerk runs at the close of each operating day: count the till, confirm tender totals, reconcile cash drops, and submit the record. Back-office systems read the submission to surface variances and feed accounting.

The pump side of a gas station, where customers fuel up. A forecourt controller coordinates pump authorization, payment, and reporting. Verifone Commander and Gilbarco Passport are the dominant combos.

A cooperative agreement among US states and Canadian provinces that simplifies fuel-tax reporting for motor carriers crossing jurisdictions. Travel centers sell IFTA-qualified diesel and may need to file IFTA-related reports.

The National Association of Convenience Stores, the trade body for the c-store industry. NACS hosts the largest annual conference (NACS Show) and publishes operator benchmarks.

The security standard governing how cardholder data is handled. Anyone accepting credit cards has compliance obligations. Most gas stations qualify as SAQ-B or SAQ-C (simpler self-assessments) because card data flows through the POS or processor, not the back office.

The cash register, hardware, and software at the checkout counter. In c-stores, the POS usually also controls the forecourt: pump authorization, fuel-grade pricing, and shift management.

The mapping of every SKU sold in the store to its cost, retail price, tax category, and vendor. The pricebook lives in the POS, fed by back-office systems that ingest vendor price changes.

Inventory loss from theft, waste, miscount, or process error. Reported as a percentage of cost of goods sold. For independent stations, shrinkage runs 1 to 3% across inside-store SKUs.

Fuel that left the tank but did not leave through the dispenser as a recorded sale. Causes include pump miscalibration, BOL discrepancy, leak, and theft. The variance is the gap across BOL, ATG, and POS.